Tamil Nadu on Wednesday filed a suit in the Supreme Court accusing the Union government of treating the people of the State in a “step-motherly” fashion by delaying the release of disaster relief funds to the tune of nearly ₹38,000 crore sought by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to help tide over the twin calamities of Cyclone Michaung and unprecedented floods in the southern districts.
“There is no justification in delaying the release of funds. The differential treatment in the release of funds in comparison to other States is tantamount to class discrimination. It violates the fundamental rights of those who have suffered due to calamities and faced greater hardships and irreparable losses. This step-motherly treatment violates the National Disaster Management Policy, including financial relations and the federal nature of tax division by unfairly allocating funds to some States over others,” the State of Tamil Nadu submitted in court.
The original suit filed by the State under Article 131 of the Constitution follows Mr. Stalin’s response on the lack of adequate flood relief from the Centre after Prime Minister Narendra Modi commented, ahead of the General Election, that the Congress had “callously given away” the strategic Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, and Mr. Stalin’s party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had done “nothing” to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s interests.
Pleas by other States
Tamil Nadu’s suit follows that of recent ones by Kerala and Karnataka in the Supreme Court. Kerala has accused the Centre of arbitrarily interfering in its net borrowing limits, pushing the State to the brink of a financial emergency. Karnataka has moved the Supreme Court for the release of drought relief under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
The State, represented by senior advocates P. Wilson and advocate D. Kumanan, submitted it had sent a representation to the Union as early as on December 14 last year for ₹19,692.69 crore as financial aid to tide over the extensive damage caused by the cyclone. There has been no action forthcoming from the Centre despite a representation submitted by the State on December 14, 2023 through the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Again, both Chief Minister Stalin and the Chief Secretary had sent representations on December 19 last year and January 10, 2024 for release of ₹18,214.52 crore to aid in the restoration and rehabilitation of lives hit by the unprecedented and extremely heavy rainfall and ensuing floods in the southern districts in December 2023. The Centre has not taken a final decision on the assistance to the State from the National Disaster Response Fund even after a lapse of almost three months from the date of submission of memoranda.
There is no word from the Centre despite comprehensive assessment reports from the IMCT, which had visited the cyclone-affected and flood-hit areas between December 12, 2023 and January 14, 2024. The IMCT reports had also been considered in detail by the sub-committee of the National Executive Committee constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Tamil Nadu pointed out.
The sub-committee had met on March 15, 2024 to consider the IMCT reports on disasters which happened in 2023 in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu. The State said it was not known whether the committee, comprising the Home Minister, Agriculture Minister, Finance Minister and Vice-Chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) were to meet again.
Tamil Nadu urged the apex court to put the Centre on the clock and direct the consideration of the reports and release the disaster funds within a specific timeframe. It requested the court to flex its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice by ordering the Union government to release ₹2,000 crore as interim and ex parte disaster relief.
The State said the 15th Finance Commission had already allocated National Disaster Response funds for the period 2021-2022 to 2025-2026. It has dealt with the possibility of additional financial assistance in the event of disasters of severe nature.
“Therefore, there is no valid reason or justification to delay the disbursement of funds to Tamil Nadu when all the required formalities are fulfilled as per the guidelines and the 2005 Act,” the State argued.
